Boris Johnson remains 'very much in charge', says minister
Boris Johnson remains "very much in charge" of the Government despite spending the night in hospital with persistent coronavirus symptoms, a Cabinet minister has said.
The Prime Minister was admitted to a NHS hospital in London on Sunday for tests on the advice of his doctor after continuing to run a high temperature.
Downing Street described the move as a "precautionary step", insisting that he continued to lead the Government, and remained in touch with ministers and senior officials.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick stressed it was not an emergency admission and that he expected him to be back in Downing Street "shortly".
"He's been working extremely hard leading the Government and being constantly updated," he told BBC Breakfast.
"That's going to continue.
"Obviously today he's in hospital having the tests but he will continue to be kept informed as to what's happening and to be in charge of the Government.
"I'm sure this is very frustrating for him, for somebody like Boris who wants to be hands on running the Government from the front, but nonetheless he's still very much in charge of the Government."
Nevertheless in Mr Johnson's absence, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, is expected to chair the Government's daily coronavirus meeting on Monday.
The news of the Prime Minister's admission to hospital came just an hour after the Queen delivered a message of hope to the nation, saying "we will overcome it" although we "may have more still to endure".
Meanwhile Mr Jenrick suggested the current lockdown measures could be gradually eased "in the weeks to come", although an exit strategy would require much more testing.
He said there was currently "excess capacity" in intensive care units "across the country", which had to be maintained to ensure the NHS was not overwhelmed.
"If we can do that then we can look in the weeks to come to begin to very carefully... lift some of those measures," he said.
"But an exit strategy that's sustainable will also have to be accompanied by much greater testing and tracing than we are able to do today."
Published: by Radio NewsHub